On the cover: A potentially big play is springing from a surprising and relatively new location in the United States: It’s the Marcellus shale gas play, and some geologists believe it has the potential to make the Appalachian Basin a hot spot of activity for years to come. Shown on the cover is a portion of the heavily jointed Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale at Oatka Creek in the village of LeRoy, N.Y.

Photo by Gary Lash

STANDING ARTICLES:

President's Column:

Rhetoric is Politics; Opportunities are Real

Director's Corner:

'Shape Up!' It's Meeting Season

Division Column -- DEG:

It's the sediment, stupid
Coastal Plain All Out-Go, No In-Come

Geophysical Corner:

'Instantaneous' an Ideal Indicator

Washington Watch:

Energy Bill and Funding Recapped

Regions and Sections:

Enthusiasm Shared at Colombia Meeting

Foundation:

New Award Honors weeks

It is the best of times, period: Seismic crews are enjoying a boom cycle that leaves little room for rest.

Say you want a revolution? There’s a good one going on in the Gulf of Mexico involving wide-azimuth seismic acquisition – one with the potential to spread around the world.

Pass the salt, please: How advances in 3-D seismic technology opened the subsalt exploration door in the Gulf of Mexico – and why that matters to the rest of the industry.

Tough terrain, challenging locales, political upheavals: Welcome to the world of international seismic work, where the hardest part of the job might be just getting to the job.

Coming soon to a difficult-to-explore-area near you – cableless seismic technology is leading the way into challenging areas

AAPG Headlines:

• PTTC schedules 76 workshops
• NAPE sets another attendance record
• Are you an active member of AAPG who should have Emeritus status?
• Making a difference: Noble 'investment' tackles scourges
• Cape Town's international conference program begins preparations
• Diversity seminar planned during annual convention
• Pacific section meeting opens online registration